Aretha Best

Music from Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Big Mama Thornton, and more – 50 tracks in all.

This brand-new 3CD compilation is guaranteed to get your foot tapping, hips moving and the whole room grooving with 60 of the top dance floor filling hits from the 80s. Boasting a huge range of legendary superstars including Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Chic, Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5, alongside timeless tunes including ‘Ain't Nobody’ from Rufus & Chaka Khan, ‘Let’s Groove’ from Earth Wind & Fire, ‘Walking On Sunshine’ from Rockers Revenge with Donnie Calvin and ‘Just The Two Of Us’ from Grover Washington Jr. with Bill Withers.

The deep, soulful voice of the Doobie Brothers, and one of the most popular songwriters and solo artists of the rock era.

King Curtis was the last of the great R&B tenor sax giants. Born Curtis Ousley in Fort Worth, Texas, he came to prominence in the mid-'50s as a session musician in New York, recording, at one time or another, for most East Coast R&B labels. A long association with Atco/Atlantic began in 1958, especially on recordings by the Coasters. He recorded singles for many small labels in the '50s – his own Atco sessions (1958-1959), and Prestige/New Jazz and Prestige/Tru-Sound for jazz and R&B albums (1960-1961). Curtis also had a number one R&B single with "Soul Twist" on Enjoy (1962). He was signed by Capitol (1963-1964), where he cut mostly singles, including the number 20 R&B hit "Soul Serenade." He returned to Atco/Atlantic in 1965, where he remained for the rest of his life. He had solid R&B single success with "Memphis Soul Stew" and "Ode to Billie Joe" (1967). Beginning in 1967, Curtis started to take a more active studio role at Atlantic, leading and contracting sessions for other artists, producing with Jerry Wexler, and later on his own. He also became the leader of Aretha Franklin's backing unit, the Kingpins. He compiled several albums of singles during this period. All aspects of his career were in full swing at the time he was murdered in 1971. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Nina Simone Van alle grote zangers en zangeressen uit de late twintigste eeuw was Nina Simone een van de moeilijkste artiesten om onder te brengen in een bepaalde groep. Ze nam op grote schaal soul-, jazz- en popnummers op die vaak ook op hetzelfde album verschenen. Ze ging ook gemakkelijk om met blues, gospelmuziek en Broadway. Op vlak van de emotie die ze overbracht, is het waarschijnlijk correct om haar te beschouwen als een soulzangeres. Net zoals Aretha Franklin of Dusty Springfield was Simone een eclecticus die een zeker soulgehalte toevoegde aan al haar werk. Dat was een van haar sterkste kwaliteiten en het is waarschijnlijk ook de reden waarom ze nooit een bijzonder grote massa fans had.